Self

It’s easy to get lost. Lost in the mix. Timelines, deadlines, due dates, and events. Life has us so strictly scheduled that we, many times, forget that our time is really ours to own and that we, do in fact, have the ability to slow down. In Western culture, from a young age, we are taught that there is always time to do more, accomplish more, say more, be more, etc.. Whatever is enough to get you by, is never enough and should never be enough — we are taught never to settle. But when is enough, enough? Does there come a point in time where this mindset is more self-destructive than it is self-constructive?

I want more. I want to be more. But, not in the typical sense. I don’t want the title, the six-figure salary, or the false sense of happiness built on the foundation of materialistic desires. I want to live. I want to not only curate moments built by others but create my own. I want to drive to my own destination without navigation. To find content in the little things. To be thankful for the little things.

There are so many moments in a day where I unintentionally pass the opportunity to connect with others. My face too buried deep in the fluorescent screen of my computer, I miss out on the ability to connect on a personal level. “But…why am I alone”, I ask myself. Easy. I rely on an algorithm to tell me what’s worth my time in a day. Who’s worth dating. What’s worth eating. What’s worth reading, and what’s worth listening to. Has the art of self-discovery died? Have we become so consumed with displaying the “curated version of ourselves” that we’ve forgotten to be human? To be one self?

Self. : “A person’s essential being that distinguishes them from others, especially considered as the object of introspection or reflexive action.”